I'm in the midst of a light bathroom remodel deemed necessary by the bosslady. The double vanity is staying. The full-width plate glass mirror is gone. A large framed mirror is to go over each basin. The wall is to be, either in part or in toto, covered with ceramic tile.
So, the wallboard job on this house was done by practitioners whose ability fell more toward the hack end of the Artiste-Hack spectrum. The removed mirror rested on a stainless channel that covered the considerable gap between the vanity and the wall. The gap is considerably wider than the thickness of a wall tile. What's the best way to address this gap?
A few pictures:
As always, I offer profound and heartfelt thanks to whomever is gracious enough to offer their advice/opinion/ridicule.
Notes:
1) The caulk was already there, apparently to seal the bottom of the mirror to the vanity backsplash.
2) The utility knife is offered for scale. I'd estimate the gap to be 1/2" in places, but it very much varies.
Definitely a crooked wall there. If you are just trying to cover up the hole and not redo the whole thing you can just get some quarter round like used above floor baseboards and put on there. It's not doing it right but it will lipstick the pig
Placemotorsports said:
Definitely a crooked wall there. If you are just trying to cover up the hole and not redo the whole thing you can just get some quarter round like used above floor baseboards and put on there. It's not doing it right but it will lipstick the pig
You think that's bad. You should have seen me putting crown molding up in the formal dining room. Let's just say there's a bit of caulk there to make it look decent. I may have said some bad words.
Shim the wall tile off the vanity an 1/8-1/4 and then grout the gap. Not only will this allow you to conceal the wall issue, but it will also allow you to plumb and level your tile. Also don't start your tile in the corner.
No Time
SuperDork
2/22/21 2:41 p.m.
I'm a glutton for punishment, so I would remove the wallboard to 1" inside of where the tile will end. That will leave 1" of overlap of tile into wallboard.
I would then use durarock to replace the wallboard that was removed. It can be shimmed out to get rid of the wave in the wall. Use thin set and mesh tape to joint any seams in the cement board and wallboard.
As for the tiling, I usually set up a ledger board approx 3/4 of a tile above the edge of the surface it will mate with at the bottom (floor, sink, tub, etc), and then tile up from the ledger board and let the thin set cure. I then remove the ledger and tile the bottom row cutting to fit (with desired 1/8" or other space) so the grout line/space stays even with the surface. This allows for a nice grout/caulk line even if the surface isn't level.
It looks to me like the right side of the counter is also away from the wall, am I right? I would understand if they installed it with both ends touching the wall and a gap in the middle, but my brain is thinking that if you shoved the countertop back so it touches the wall on both ends you might close up the gap in the middle by 1/8" or so? Not a fix, but that's 1/8" less to worry about.
I'm not an expert, but here is honestly what I would do. Find all the studs and mark them. Tape a few strings across the wall (or stretch between two screws. Then I would use some furring strips on the drywall over the studs to space it out. Then hardie backer screwed all the way through the furring strips to the studs. That would probably require thinset for the tile instead of mastic, but someone might make a mastic that works on hardie.
Might not be right, but it will work.
Just had another idea.
A plate rail. Just maybe get some 1x2 poplar. Lay it up there on the backsplash and scribe it to the wall. Then cut/belt-sand it to follow the wall. Install with pocket screws into the studs. As long as the belly in the wall is gradual enough, your eye won't see it.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
Just had another idea.
A plate rail. Just maybe get some 1x2 poplar. Lay it up there on the backsplash and scribe it to the wall. Then cut/belt-sand it to follow the wall. Install with pocket screws into the studs. As long as the belly in the wall is gradual enough, your eye won't see it.
This is more along the lines I've been considering, but in metal as opposed to wood, since I don't like long-term water exposure on wood. Looking for something by Schluter that might work.
This is a bit different than your application since I wasn't filling gaps, but here is the way I did a friend's bathroom with plate rail. This was done with 1x3 or 1x4 because they specifically wanted to use it to set things on. Most of their walls were straight, but I just scribed and sanded the contours of the wall for a good snug fit.
There are various types of tile cap, border molding, or bullnose pieces that are thicker than a regular wall tile. Go to your nearest tile shop and take a look to see if there's something you like.
This may be the dumbest idea but why can't you skim coat the drywall with plaster?
In reply to 1988RedT2 :
The poplar I did received two coats of semi-gloss latex paint and hasn't shown any signs of water infiltration, and that was done in (checks photo date stamps) Jan 2015, so 6+ years.
I agree that it isn't quite as long-term as stainless, but easy to work with and it will likely outlast the rest of the renovation.
Another possibility is a wood that is known for its resistance to water. You could snag a plank of Bamboo left over from someone's flooring install. Teak would work, but it doesn't take paint very well if that is your goal. You can also do a PVC brick moulding or something from the Millwork aisle in the PVC section.
If you're not stuck on tile, there's a lot of ways to play with the bead board/rail posted above.
that can be shimmed out much easier than tile, especially where it hits the vanity.
Go to a big box store(L or HD) or a tile supplier and get a piece of Schluter edging. You can set it square to the vanity and "mud/adhesive" it to the wall. It will give you a square edge to start, then you can mud/fudge the titles as you go. There are several styles and colors to chose from.
